Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels are non-selective cation channels that are activated by a variety of stimuli. Numerous members of the ion channel family have been identified to date, including the cold-menthol receptor-1, also called TRPM8 (McKerny D D et al. Nature 2002; 416(6876): 52-8). Collectively, the TRP channels and related TRP-like receptors connote sensory responsivity to the entire continuum of thermal exposure, selectively responding to threshold temperatures ranging from noxious hot through noxious cold as well as to certain chemicals that mimic these sensations. Specifically, TRPM8 is known to be stimulated by cool to cold temperatures as well as by menthol and icilin, which may be responsible for the therapeutic cooling sensation that these agents evoke. TRPM8 is located on primary nociceptive neurons (A-delta and C-fibers) and is modulated by inflammation-mediated second messenger signals (Abe J et al. Neurosci Lett 2006, 397(1-2):140-4; Premkumar L S et al. J Neurosci 2005; 25(49): 11322-9). The localization of TRPM8 on both Aδ and C-fibers may provide a basis for abnormal cold sensitivity in pathologic conditions wherein these neurons are altered, resulting in pain, often of a burning nature (Kobayashi K et al. J Comp Neurol 2005; 493(4): 596-606; Roza C et al. Pain 2006; 120(1-2): 24-35; Xing H et al. J Neurophysiol 2006; 95(2): 1221-30). Cold intolerance and paradoxical burning sensations induced by chemical or thermal cooling closely parallel symptoms seen in a wide range of clinical disorders and thus provide a strong rationale for the development of TRPM8 modulators as novel antihyperalgesic or antiallodynic agents. TRPM8 is also known to be expressed in the brain, lung, bladder, gastrointestinal tract, blood vessels, prostate and immune cells, thereby providing the possibility for therapeutic modulation in a wide range of maladies.
In International Patent Application WO 2006/040136 A1, Lampe, T. et al of Bayer Healthcare AG disclose substituted 4-benzyloxy-phenylmethylamide derivatives as cold menthol receptor-1 (CMR-1) antagonists for the treatment of urological disorders.
In International Patent Application WO 2006/040103 A1, Alonso-Alija, C. et al of Bayer Healthcare AG disclose methods and pharmaceutical compositions for treatment and/or prophylaxis of respiratory diseases or disorders.
In International Patent Application WO 2007/017092 A1, Lampe, Thomas et al of Bayer Healthcare AG disclose substituted 4-benzyloxy-benzoic acid amide derivatives as cold menthol receptor-1 (CMR-1) antagonists for the treatment of urological diseases or disorders, chronic pain, neuropathic pain, postoperative pain, rheumatoid arthritic pain, neuralgia, neuropathies, algesia, nerve injury, ischaemia, neurodegeneration, stroke, and inflammatory disorders such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary (or airways) disease (COPD).
In International Patent Application WO 2007/017093 A1, Lampe, Thomas et al of Bayer Healthcare AG disclose substituted 2-benzyloxy-benzoic acid amide derivatives as cold menthol receptor-1 (CMR-1) antagonists for the treatment of urological diseases or disorders, chronic pain, neuropathic pain, postoperative pain, rheumatoid arthritic pain, neuralgia, neuropathies, algesia, nerve injury, ischaemia, neurodegeneration, stroke, and inflammatory disorders such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary (or airways) disease (COPD).
In International Patent Application WO 2007/017094 A1, Lampe, Thomas et al of Bayer Healthcare AG disclose substituted benzyloxy-phenylmethylcarbamate derivatives as cold menthol receptor-1 (CMR-1) antagonists for the treatment of urological diseases or disorders, chronic pain, neuropathic pain, postoperative pain, rheumatoid arthritic pain, neuralgia, neuropathies, algesia, nerve injury, ischaemia, neurodegeneration, stroke, and inflammatory disorders such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary (or airways) disease (COPD).
It is an object of the present invention to provide compounds that are TRPM8 antagonists useful for treating TRPM8-mediated disorders. It is another object of the invention to provide a process for preparing compounds, compositions, intermediates and derivatives thereof. It is a further object of the invention to provide methods for treating chronic or acute pain, or the diseases that lead to such pain, and pulmonary or vascular dysfunction. More particularly, the compounds of the present invention are useful for the treatment of diseases or conditions including, but not limited to, those that cause inflammatory or neuropathic pain, cold intolerance or cold allodynia, peripheral vascular pain, itch or urinary incontinence, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary hypertension and anxiety or stress-related disorders.